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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 6 page essay that argues that Louisa May Alcott in Little Women used the nineteenth century cult of domesticity to underscore transcendental themes. Examination of Little Women shows that Alcott manages to reinterpret the ideals of domesticity within the context dictated by Transcendentalism, which shows the March sisters remaining true to themselves and their own individuality, but within the social structure dictated by nineteenth century norms. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khaldom.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
surviving March sisters eventually marry and settle into socially acceptable lives that with the domestic ideals of the period. While this is true, a deeper reading of the novel shows
that Alcott expertly weaves in factors that demonstrates the struggle that nineteenth century women frequently felt between familial duty and personal growth. Examination of Little Women shows that Alcott manages
to reinterpret the ideals of domesticity within the context dictated by Transcendentalism, which shows the March sisters remaining true to themselves and their own individuality, but within the social structure
dictated by nineteenth century norms. Before discussing the novel, in order to understand transcendentalism within the context of Alcotts novel, it is first necessary to examine the "cult of domesticity,"
as well as the precepts of transcendentalism. Catherine Lavender points out that between 1820 and the onset of the American Civil War, the rapid increase in new industries and
businesses combined to create a "new middle class" of families where husbands worked outside the home as "lawyers, office workers, factory managers, merchants, teachers, physicians and others." As men went
off to work, the idea grew that that the public sphere was a "rough world," in which men did what they had to do in order to succeed (Lavender). A
womans place was perceived to be located securely in the private sphere, which she ruled as a domestic goddess, creating a haven of warmth and love for the husband to
return to after braving the rigors of the public sphere. The domestic ideal held that women would be pious, pure, submissive, and domestic. Lavender points out that the "cult of
domesticity" developed as the family lost its function as an economic unit. Many of the previous links between family and community disappeared as work left the home. The division between
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